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Devil's Den (Devil's Den lime pit), Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, USAi
Regional Level Types
Devil's Den (Devil's Den lime pit)Quarry (Inactive)
NewburyTown
Essex CountyCounty
MassachusettsState
USACountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
42° 46' 50'' North , 70° 52' 35'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Quarry (Inactive) - last checked 2020
Deposit first discovered:
1697
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Newburyport17,982 (2017)3.6km
Salisbury4,869 (2017)6.9km
Rowley1,416 (2017)7.1km
West Newbury4,221 (2017)9.5km
Amesbury18,313 (2017)9.7km
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
ClubLocationDistance
North Shore Rock & Mineral Club of MassachusettsSouth Hamilton, Massachusetts19km
Southeastern New Hampshire Mineral ClubDover, New Hampshire46km
Boston Mineral Club, Inc.Boston, Massachusetts49km
Mindat Locality ID:
22348
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:22348:2
GUID (UUID V4):
21a27ae7-8600-42de-85b8-53b7ab2437d2


The limestone at this locality (actually an impure metamorphosed magnesian limestone) was discovered by Ensign James Noyes (b. 1657), and worked beginning in 1697 -- the first "lime quarry" in colonial Massachusetts. Before this time, lime used for mortar for construction purposes was derived from oyster and clam shells.

According to De Alcedo et al. (1812): "In a quarry of limestone here is found the asbestos, or incorruptible cotton, as it is sometimes called." The poet, John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), alludes to this asbestos in "The Double-Headed Snake of Newbury" (1859) with the line "Or the gray earth-flax of the Devil's Den."

The name "Devil's Den" originated with local schoolboys who frequented the abandoned quarry beginning long before 1819. The boys would chew the asbestos, which they called rag-stone. (B.P., 1819)

Parker Cleaveland (1780–1858), the famous American geologist and mineralogist, first collected minerals here in 1811. His half-brother, Rev. Dr. John P. Cleaveland (1799-1873), recalls the day: "I well remember the forenoon of a warm day in the first week in June in 1811 when he made his first visit to the Devil's Den in Newbury. ... It had been visited once before by a Professor from Harvard, and once by some Professor from foreign parts; but its riches were reserved for my brother's eye. He returned to my father's house with one or two candle-boxes filled; and my mother's kitchen was at once turned into a laboratory, and the floor strewed with fragments of every variety which the den yielded . . . No miser ever worshipped his money as he did these specimens. Many of them which I helped him reduce and pack up that day have long had a place in French, German, and Russian Cabinets." (Woods, 1860; Ewell, 1904).

See also the nearby Devil's Basin locality.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


17 valid minerals. 2 erroneous literature entries.

Detailed Mineral List:

β“˜ Actinolite
Formula: ◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Colour: green
β“˜ Andradite
Formula: Ca3Fe3+2(SiO4)3
β“˜ Antigorite
Formula: Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
β“˜ Arsenopyrite
Formula: FeAsS
β“˜ Brucite
Formula: Mg(OH)2
β“˜ Brucite var. Nemalite
Formula: Mg(OH)2
β“˜ Calcite
Formula: CaCO3
β“˜ Calcite var. Calcite Satin Spar
Formula: CaCO3
β“˜ Chrysotile
Formula: Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Habit: fibrous
Colour: white, greenish
β“˜ Diopside
Formula: CaMgSi2O6
β“˜ Dolomite
Formula: CaMg(CO3)2
β“˜ Grossular
Formula: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3
Habit: mostly massive; crystals uncommon
Colour: orange-brown
β“˜ Grossular var. Hessonite
Formula: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3
β“˜ Phlogopite
Formula: KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
β“˜ Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
β“˜ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
βœͺ 'Serpentine Subgroup'
Formula: D3[Si2O5](OH)4
Habit: massive
Colour: green
Description: "Noble serpentine" said to occur here. (Sears, 1894)
β“˜ 'Serpentine Subgroup var. Marmolite'
Formula: D3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Habit: massive, foliated (Sears, 1894)
β“˜ 'Serpentine Subgroup var. Picrolite'
Formula: D3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
β“˜ Siderite
Formula: FeCO3
β“˜ Sodalite
Formula: Na4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
Description: Unbelievable paragenesis.
β“˜ Titanite
Formula: CaTi(SiO4)O
Colour: colorless, pale yellowish tan
β“˜ Tremolite
Formula: ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Habit: n/a
Description: Wollastonite was mistaken for tremolite. Ref.: Wadsworth, M. Edward (1878): On the So-Called Tremolite of Newbury, Mass. (Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 19:251).
β“˜ Vesuvianite
Formula: Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Habit: massive
Description: Crosby (1888) reported an analysis of a massive brown mineral and found it to be vesuvianite. Sears (1894) did not initially accept this identification, but later (Sears, 1905) he apparently changed his mind.
β“˜ Wollastonite
Formula: Ca3(Si3O9)
Habit: crystalline aggregates
Colour: white

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
β“˜Pyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
β“˜Arsenopyrite2.EB.20FeAsS
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
β“˜Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜Brucite
var. Nemalite
4.FE.05Mg(OH)2
β“˜4.FE.05Mg(OH)2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
β“˜Calcite
var. Calcite Satin Spar
5.AB.05CaCO3
β“˜Siderite5.AB.05FeCO3
β“˜Calcite5.AB.05CaCO3
β“˜Dolomite5.AB.10CaMg(CO3)2
Group 9 - Silicates
β“˜Chrysotile9..Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
β“˜Grossular9.AD.25Ca3Al2(SiO4)3
β“˜var. Hessonite9.AD.25Ca3Al2(SiO4)3
β“˜Andradite9.AD.25Ca3Fe3+2(SiO4)3
β“˜Titanite9.AG.15CaTi(SiO4)O
β“˜Vesuvianite9.BG.35Ca19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(β—»4)β—»[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
β“˜Diopside9.DA.15CaMgSi2O6
β“˜Tremolite ?9.DE.10β—»Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
β“˜Actinolite9.DE.10β—»Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
β“˜Wollastonite9.DG.05Ca3(Si3O9)
β“˜Phlogopite9.EC.20KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
β“˜Antigorite9.ED.15Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
β“˜Sodalite ?9.FB.10Na4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
Unclassified
β“˜'Serpentine Subgroup
var. Marmolite'
-D3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
β“˜''-D3[Si2O5](OH)4
β“˜'var. Picrolite'-D3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hβ“˜ Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Hβ“˜ AntigoriteMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Hβ“˜ BruciteMg(OH)2
Hβ“˜ ChrysotileMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Hβ“˜ Brucite var. NemaliteMg(OH)2
Hβ“˜ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Hβ“˜ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Hβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Hβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Hβ“˜ Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
Hβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
CCarbon
Cβ“˜ CalciteCaCO3
Cβ“˜ DolomiteCaMg(CO3)2
Cβ“˜ SideriteFeCO3
Cβ“˜ Calcite var. Calcite Satin SparCaCO3
OOxygen
Oβ“˜ Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Oβ“˜ AndraditeCa3Fe23+(SiO4)3
Oβ“˜ AntigoriteMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Oβ“˜ BruciteMg(OH)2
Oβ“˜ CalciteCaCO3
Oβ“˜ ChrysotileMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Oβ“˜ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Oβ“˜ DolomiteCaMg(CO3)2
Oβ“˜ GrossularCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Oβ“˜ Grossular var. HessoniteCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Oβ“˜ Brucite var. NemaliteMg(OH)2
Oβ“˜ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Oβ“˜ QuartzSiO2
Oβ“˜ SideriteFeCO3
Oβ“˜ SodaliteNa4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
Oβ“˜ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
Oβ“˜ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Oβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Oβ“˜ WollastoniteCa3(Si3O9)
Oβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Oβ“˜ Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
Oβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Oβ“˜ Calcite var. Calcite Satin SparCaCO3
NaSodium
Naβ“˜ SodaliteNa4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
MgMagnesium
Mgβ“˜ Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Mgβ“˜ AntigoriteMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Mgβ“˜ BruciteMg(OH)2
Mgβ“˜ ChrysotileMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Mgβ“˜ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Mgβ“˜ DolomiteCaMg(CO3)2
Mgβ“˜ Brucite var. NemaliteMg(OH)2
Mgβ“˜ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Mgβ“˜ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Mgβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Mgβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Mgβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
AlAluminium
Alβ“˜ GrossularCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Alβ“˜ Grossular var. HessoniteCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Alβ“˜ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Alβ“˜ SodaliteNa4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
Alβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Alβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Alβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
SiSilicon
Siβ“˜ Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Siβ“˜ AndraditeCa3Fe23+(SiO4)3
Siβ“˜ AntigoriteMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Siβ“˜ ChrysotileMg3(Si2O5)(OH)4
Siβ“˜ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Siβ“˜ GrossularCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Siβ“˜ Grossular var. HessoniteCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Siβ“˜ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Siβ“˜ QuartzSiO2
Siβ“˜ SodaliteNa4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
Siβ“˜ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
Siβ“˜ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Siβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Siβ“˜ WollastoniteCa3(Si3O9)
Siβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Siβ“˜ Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
Siβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
SSulfur
Sβ“˜ ArsenopyriteFeAsS
Sβ“˜ PyriteFeS2
ClChlorine
Clβ“˜ SodaliteNa4(Si3Al3)O12Cl
KPotassium
Kβ“˜ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
CaCalcium
Caβ“˜ Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Caβ“˜ AndraditeCa3Fe23+(SiO4)3
Caβ“˜ CalciteCaCO3
Caβ“˜ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Caβ“˜ DolomiteCaMg(CO3)2
Caβ“˜ GrossularCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Caβ“˜ Grossular var. HessoniteCa3Al2(SiO4)3
Caβ“˜ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
Caβ“˜ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Caβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Caβ“˜ WollastoniteCa3(Si3O9)
Caβ“˜ Calcite var. Calcite Satin SparCaCO3
TiTitanium
Tiβ“˜ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
MnManganese
Mnβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Mnβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
FeIron
Feβ“˜ Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Feβ“˜ AndraditeCa3Fe23+(SiO4)3
Feβ“˜ ArsenopyriteFeAsS
Feβ“˜ PyriteFeS2
Feβ“˜ SideriteFeCO3
Feβ“˜ VesuvianiteCa19Fe3+Al4(Al6Mg2)(◻4)◻[Si2O7]4[(SiO4)10]O(OH)9
Feβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Feβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
NiNickel
Niβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Niβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
ZnZinc
Znβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. MarmoliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
Znβ“˜ Serpentine Subgroup var. PicroliteD3[Si2O5](OH)4 D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn
AsArsenic
Asβ“˜ ArsenopyriteFeAsS

Mindat Articles

Devil’s Den and Basin, Newbury, Massachusetts by Peter Cristofono


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